Northridge must forfeit every game Lewis competed in during 2012-13 school year

The Alabama High School Athletic Association has declared C'yontai Lewis ineligible in a ruling handed down Tuesday morning, The Tuscaloosa News has learned.

Staff photo | Aaron Suttles

By Aaron SuttlesSports Writer

Published: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 12:25 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 25, 2013 at 12:25 p.m.

Updated: 4:10 p.m.

Updated: 3:30 p.m.

Updated: 2 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Northridge High School has been fined, placed on probation and must forfeit every contest that former athlete C’yontai Lewis competed in during the 2012-13 school year, in accordance with a recent ruling by the Alabama High School Athletic Association.

Lewis transferred to Tuscaloosa County this month in hopes of playing for the Wildcats football team his senior season, but he was also ruled ineligible for 2013-14 by the AHSAA on Tuesday morning. The AHSAA ruled Lewis did not complete a “bona fide” move from Greene County to Northridge for his junior season.

“We received word from the AHSAA that he is ineligible, and, from my understanding, it all stems back to his move from Greene County,” Tuscaloosa County head football coach Lee Gibson said.

He played in all 10 games for the Jaguars football team and every basketball game as a guard/forward during his junior season.

Lewis did not reside in the Northridge school zone the minimum nine months required as per the conditions of the AHSAA “Bone Fide Move Rule.”

Northridge was assessed a $300 fine and placed on probation for a period of one year. The sanctions do not restrict the Jaguars from competing in postseason play.

“No school in existence has a foolproof safeguard against violations of this nature, that is, when a student leaves a residence and does not inform the school,” Northridge principal Isaac Espy wrote in a statement to The Tuscaloosa News. “We do rely on returned mail, any suspicious indication or report that a student has moved, but mostly on families notifying us immediately when a move has occurred. In this instance, the student was ineligible the day he left the residence before living there nine months, but continued to attend school and participate in athletics without our knowledge of his move. We accept that this violation occurred, and certainly support the AHSAA’s ruling. Regardless of our vulnerability in this matter, it is a good rule, and one we make every effort to follow.”

The 6-foot-5, 213-pound senior tight end, who is verbally committed to the University of Florida, recently enrolled at Tuscaloosa County after playing his junior season at Northridge. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Greene County.

“I found out today,” Lewis said. “They sent a letter to the school. They said I wasn’t eligible. I really don’t understand why I wasn’t eligible, but they said I wasn’t. It was a shock to me.”

At issue is that Lewis did not remain in the residence for nine months after transferring from Greene County to Northridge, and therefore did not complete what the AHSAA classifies as a “bona fide move.” According to the AHSAA website, “A bona fide move occurs when a student’s parents move completely out of one school attendance zone into another.”

The AHSAA guidelines for determining a bona fide move include:

- The household furniture of the family must be moved into an unoccupied house or apartment.

- All principal members of the family must reside in the new place of residence.

- The original residence must be closed, rented or disposed of and not used by the family.

- Nine months at the new residence will be required to make a move bona fide.

The AHSAA ruled that Lewis had not made a bona fide move and is therefore ineligible.

Lewis said he will explore transferring to a private school to play his senior year. He said he is considering Tuscaloosa Academy and Bessemer Academy. He currently favors Tuscaloosa Academy.

Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron.suttles@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0229.

<p><i>Updated: 4:10 p.m.</p><p>Updated: 3:30 p.m.</p><p>Updated: 2 p.m.</i></p><p>TUSCALOOSA | Northridge High School has been fined, placed on probation and must forfeit every contest that former athlete C'yontai Lewis competed in during the 2012-13 school year, in accordance with a recent ruling by the Alabama High School Athletic Association.</p><p>Lewis transferred to Tuscaloosa County this month in hopes of playing for the Wildcats football team his senior season, but he was also ruled ineligible for 2013-14 by the AHSAA on Tuesday morning. The AHSAA ruled Lewis did not complete a “bona fide” move from Greene County to Northridge for his junior season.</p><p>“We received word from the AHSAA that he is ineligible, and, from my understanding, it all stems back to his move from Greene County,” Tuscaloosa County head football coach Lee Gibson said.</p><p>He played in all 10 games for the Jaguars football team and every basketball game as a guard/forward during his junior season.</p><p>Lewis did not reside in the Northridge school zone the minimum nine months required as per the conditions of the AHSAA “Bone Fide Move Rule.”</p><p>Northridge was assessed a $300 fine and placed on probation for a period of one year. The sanctions do not restrict the Jaguars from competing in postseason play.</p><p>“No school in existence has a foolproof safeguard against violations of this nature, that is, when a student leaves a residence and does not inform the school,” Northridge principal Isaac Espy wrote in a statement to The Tuscaloosa News. “We do rely on returned mail, any suspicious indication or report that a student has moved, but mostly on families notifying us immediately when a move has occurred. In this instance, the student was ineligible the day he left the residence before living there nine months, but continued to attend school and participate in athletics without our knowledge of his move. We accept that this violation occurred, and certainly support the AHSAA's ruling. Regardless of our vulnerability in this matter, it is a good rule, and one we make every effort to follow.”</p><p>The 6-foot-5, 213-pound senior tight end, who is verbally committed to the University of Florida, recently enrolled at Tuscaloosa County after playing his junior season at Northridge. He played his freshman and sophomore seasons at Greene County.</p><p>“I found out today,” Lewis said. “They sent a letter to the school. They said I wasn't eligible. I really don't understand why I wasn't eligible, but they said I wasn't. It was a shock to me.”</p><p>At issue is that Lewis did not remain in the residence for nine months after transferring from Greene County to Northridge, and therefore did not complete what the AHSAA classifies as a “bona fide move.” According to the AHSAA website, “A bona fide move occurs when a student's parents move completely out of one school attendance zone into another.”</p><p>The AHSAA guidelines for determining a bona fide move include:</p><p><b>-</b> The household furniture of the family must be moved into an unoccupied house or apartment.</p><p><b>-</b> All principal members of the family must reside in the new place of residence.</p><p><b>-</b> The original residence must be closed, rented or disposed of and not used by the family.</p><p><b>-</b> Nine months at the new residence will be required to make a move bona fide.</p><p>The AHSAA ruled that Lewis had not made a bona fide move and is therefore ineligible.</p><p>Lewis said he will explore transferring to a private school to play his senior year. He said he is considering Tuscaloosa Academy and Bessemer Academy. He currently favors Tuscaloosa Academy.</p><p>Reach Aaron Suttles at aaron.suttles@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0229.</p>